MENIFEE: Hair cuts take center stage at dance

When third-grader Aliyah Sanchez had 17 inches of her hair chopped off as a donation to Locks of Love, it was the second time she'd donated her long hair to the charity.

"I had a lot of hair," Aliyah said grinning, as her proud parents, John and Liliam Sanchez, watched while she showed off her bouncy new short hairdo.

Aliyah was one of several students from Ridgemoor Elementary School in Menifee who sat in the barber's chair for a major haircut at the school's PTA membership dance, held the evening of Sept. 14. About 200 families turned out for the lively dance, which also featured drinks, sno cones and churros for snacks.

Several moms also donated their long tresses during a mass hair-cut-a-thon, with free haircuts provided by stylists Treena Kemmerer, Brenda Ramirez and Heather Roth, who all have children attending Ridgemoor.

The donations were the idea of Ridgemoor kindergarten teacher Denise Bassett, who had her long hair cut off at the dance as well, so she could donate her for the third time. She had 10 inches cut off ---- the minimum requested donation for Locks of Love ---- and now sports a chin-length bob hairstyle.

"I just grow it to do this. I'll be doing it again," Bassett said.

Bassett's 6-year-old daughter, Amy, a first-grader, cut off her hair to donate for the first time. She was a little hesitant at first, her mom said. After the cut, Amy showed off a stylish short bob that was a little longer in front, a chic hairstyle many of the girls came away with.

Bassett said she would mail the hair donations to the organization, the same way she did a few years ago when she hosted another Locks of Love haircut event that was attended by many families in the Menifee school community. Each hair donation was tied up in a ponytail to keep it neat and tidy.

For Midge James, principal at the new Herk Bouris Elementary in Menifee, donating her hair was a personal gesture. She said her 19-year-old daughter has alopecia, a medical condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body, often the scalp.

James grew her hair out for three years just to get it long enough to donate it to the organization, which uses human hair to make wigs for alopecia patients and cancer patients who suffer hair loss due to chemotherapy. James said her daughter downplayed the big cut.

"She told me, 'It's only hair, mom,'" said James, whose shoulder-length hair was cut into light layers on the bottom.

Throughout the evening, teachers and staff members took photos of the women and girls getting their hair cut. Many staff members and PTA members congratulated James and told her how much they liked her new hairstyle. James said she had been growing her hair just for the donation and wasn't sure if she'd let it get that long again. About the big cut, she said, "I was ready."

Ridgemoor fifth-grader Adelle Holleman said this was her first donation. She had 12 or 13 inches cut off and sported a stylish, short layered bob that was a little longer in front.

"My mom braided my hair before I got here and said this was the last braid," Adelle said.